Review of A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) by Marcus W — 27 Aug 2012

A homage to Ingmar Bergman's masterful art house comedy "Smiles of a Summer Night", Woody Allen's "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy", regarded as one of Allen's earlier flops, is very hit or miss.

Allen at one point created a different Bergman-esque film, 1978's "Interiors", and though that was a strong meditation in atmosphere and melancholy, this film isn't really quite as powerful as well, any of his films.

Allen's done period pieces on occasion, and obviously is not really his strong point. This film plays with the idea, and often satirizes the time setting it's in, but the biggest issue here is that Allen never really finds the right tone.

Often whimsical (but never laugh out loud funny like many of his other works), but often a bit serious, "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy" feels wildly uneven. But thanks to some interesting set pieces and some memorable characters, there are a few reasons to see this film-- just not very many.

It labels itself as a sex comedy, but is really just a comedy about marriage and infidelity. Allen seems to love these kinds of topics, but it just doesn't work here. There are a few memorable actors here-- I liked Julie Hagerty's bimbo portrayal of Dulcy, and Jose Ferrer's melodramatic Leopald, but other than that there isn't too many reasons to see this film.

Allen is game, but his screenplay just never really hits the right notes. "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy" is worth a look, but only really for Allen's biggest fans.